Ratchet-wrench



(No Model.)

0. E. ABRAIVIS.

RATOHET WRENCH.

No. 395,865. Patented Jan. 8, 1889..

N. PETERS. Hmto-Lmgmphun Washington. D. t:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. ABRAMS, OF CIL'YlIlAlll, NEV YORK.

RATCHET-WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,865, dated January 8, 1889.

Application filed September 11, 1888. gerial N0. 285,1l4. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES E. ABRAMS,a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohatham, in the county of Columbia and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ratchet-\Yrenches; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled'in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to ratchet-wrenches which are susceptible of being set to operate to the left or to the right, as required. Heretofore various means have been employed to reverse the operation of the wrench, most of which have been cumbersome and expensive.

The object of the present invention is to simplify the reversing devices and to contrive a means for retracting one pawl and projecting the other in the path of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel at one and the same operation of a sliding bar.

The improvement consists in a bar arranged to move transversely across the handle and provided with a double inclined cam which is adapted to ride on and depress one or the other of the two pawls which are provided to operate on the ratchet-wheel and throw it in and out of the path of the ratchet-wheel, and which will at the same time permit the other pawl to be projected within the path of the teeth of the ratchet-wheel to operate it. The ends of the reversing-bar project beyond the sides of the handle, to be st r u ck by ahanuner or other instrument when reversing the wrench.

The improvement further consists in the novel features, which will be more fully hereinafter described and claimed, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front view of a wrench embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front view of the head of the wrench having the capplate removed. Fig. 3 is a front view showing one of the pawls projected and the other retracted. Fig. +L is a cross-section on line as .r of Fig. l, and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the two pawls detached from the handle.

The handle or stock A of the wrench is provided with the usual recessed head, a, in which is fitted the ratchet-wheel J), of well-known constru(,etion, in the ordinary manner. The oblique recess 1:, formed in the face of the head a, receives the head (Z of the cap-plate (J, and the flange d on one side of the handle forms a stop for the tongue (1 of the said cap-plate C. The upper edge of the head of the capplate is beveled outward, and the upper wall of the recess l) is undercut or correspomlingly beveled inward to overlap the said edge of the head (I and hold it in position. The tongue (l is held to the handle by a screw, 1), or other fastening device. The pawls E and E, arranged parallel with the handle, are fitted in the recess F in the handle and have their ends 9 and 0 reduced and working through an opening in the solid portion a between the head a and the recess F. The lower ends of the pawls have guide-extensions f f which receive the upper ends of the springs G and G, that are interposed between the lower ends of the said pawls and the lower end of the recess F. The reversing-bar H, placed transversely across the handle and fitted in recesses in the sides of the pawls E and E, is provided with the double cam 74, which is adapted to bear on the lower walls of the recesses in the said pawls and retract one or both of the pawls. One on d of the bar works through an opening in the side of the handle having the flange (P. The other end is fitted in a notch in that part of the handle opposite the flange (l and to one side of the recess F. \Vhen the cap-plate is detached, the bar II can be removed by lifting the on d fitted in the notch and drawing it endwise, which disengagcs its other end from the opening in the flanged side of the handle.

The operation of the wrench is as follows: The reversing-bar being set so that the cam 71 thereon comes midway between the opposing sides of the pawls, both ends of the pawls will project within the path of the ratchet-wheel and lock it against rotation in either direction. This will be understood when-it is observed that the inner corners t' and z", of the pawls are beveled to receive the end of the cam 71, which tits in the space formed thereby. fly tappiu g the bar to the left the pawl E will be depressed and the pawl E willbe in an operative position and the wrench can be used as a right-hand wrench. By tapping the bar H t0 the right the pawl IE will be depressed and the pawl R will be projected by the spring G, and the wrench is changed from a li gilt-hand to :1 left-hand wrench. pziwls are o 'ipi'isitely beveled to permit them to ride the teeth of the rateliet-wheel when the handle is moved baek to obtain a free sweep therefor on its forward movement.

The ratchet-wheel has its usual. angular opening through it, in which the shnnkoli' the stock J is fitted. 'lhis stock is mlnpted t0 lit the heads oi. tnps,:1nd d i t'lerent stoeks may be provided to adaptthe wreneh to a Variety of uses for dillermlt-sized drills, nuts, tarps, eke, as will be readily (:omprehemled.

What I elnim to be new, and iflesire lo secure by Letters Patent,

The outer ends of the r 

